Power over Ethernet lets a single Cat5e or Cat6 cable carry both data and power to a camera, access point or intercom — no separate power supply, no second cable run. A PoE switch is what supplies that power at the recorder or comms cabinet end, and choosing the right one comes down to two numbers most people never check until something won’t turn on.
The two numbers that matter
- Port count. Buy one PoE port per camera, plus at least one spare for the recorder’s own uplink if it isn’t PoE-native, and headroom for the next camera you’ll inevitably add. An 8-port switch for 8 cameras leaves nothing spare.
- Power budget (watts). This is the number that actually limits how many devices you can run — not the port count. Add up every camera’s PoE class: a standard IP camera with IR draws around 6–8W, a PTZ or a heated housing considerably more. A 150W switch comfortably runs eight standard cameras; the same eight PTZs could need a 250W+ budget. Undersizing this is the single most common reason a newly wired camera won’t power up even though the port lights up.
Which switch for which job
- NVR with built-in PoE ports — many HiLook and Hikvision NVRs already have 4 or 8 PoE ports built in, so no separate switch is needed for a small system on one recorder.
- Standalone PoE switch — needed once you have more cameras than the NVR has built-in ports, or when cameras and other network devices (access points, intercoms) share the same run back to a comms cupboard.
- Managed vs unmanaged. A managed switch lets you see per-port power draw and reboot a hung camera remotely — worth the extra cost on a commercial site; unmanaged is fine for a small domestic install.
What else you will need
Run Cat5e or Cat6 cable rated for the distance — PoE and standard Ethernet both max out around 100m per run without a repeater or media converter. For distances beyond that, a PoE extender or fibre uplink is the answer, not a longer copper run. If you are specifying a whole system from scratch, start from IP cameras and work back to the switch, not the other way round.
PoE Switches
Power over Ethernet lets a single Cat5e or Cat6 cable carry both data and power to a camera, access point or intercom — no separate power supply, no second cable run. A PoE switch is what supplies that power at the recorder or comms cabinet end, and choosing the right one comes down to two numbers most people never check until something won’t turn on.
The two numbers that matter
- Port count. Buy one PoE port per camera, plus at least one spare for the recorder’s own uplink if it isn’t PoE-native, and headroom for the next camera you’ll inevitably add. An 8-port switch for 8 cameras leaves nothing spare.
- Power budget (watts). This is the number that actually limits how many devices you can run — not the port count. Add up every camera’s PoE class: a standard IP camera with IR draws around 6–8W, a PTZ or a heated housing considerably more. A 150W switch comfortably runs eight standard cameras; the same eight PTZs could need a 250W+ budget. Undersizing this is the single most common reason a newly wired camera won’t power up even though the port lights up.
Which switch for which job
- NVR with built-in PoE ports — many HiLook and Hikvision NVRs already have 4 or 8 PoE ports built in, so no separate switch is needed for a small system on one recorder.
- Standalone PoE switch — needed once you have more cameras than the NVR has built-in ports, or when cameras and other network devices (access points, intercoms) share the same run back to a comms cupboard.
- Managed vs unmanaged. A managed switch lets you see per-port power draw and reboot a hung camera remotely — worth the extra cost on a commercial site; unmanaged is fine for a small domestic install.
What else you will need
Run Cat5e or Cat6 cable rated for the distance — PoE and standard Ethernet both max out around 100m per run without a repeater or media converter. For distances beyond that, a PoE extender or fibre uplink is the answer, not a longer copper run. If you are specifying a whole system from scratch, start from IP cameras and work back to the switch, not the other way round.
- Ruijie Reyee
- Ruijie Reyee
- Ruijie Reyee
- Ruijie Reyee
- Ruijie Reyee
- Ruijie Reyee
- Ruijie Reyee
- Ruijie Reyee
